


When Home Becomes a Strange Place

by ZoeWiloh



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Stalking, Unstable Character, Violence in Later Chapters, pre-game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-04-24 06:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19167451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoeWiloh/pseuds/ZoeWiloh
Summary: When Noctis learns someone has been watching him, his first reaction is total indifference - it seems like people never stop watching him - but it soon starts to make him anxious. But he decides to keep it to himself, because Noct having a stalker isn't Prompto's problem, right?....Right?Until it turns into Prompto's problem.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! This is my first ever entry to Bad Things Happen Bingo! Very excited!
> 
> This story might seem very Noctis-centric, but long term it's going to be a Prompto story. At least that's how it started in my head so he is not going to be in the background for long. 
> 
> Trigger warnings for stalking and general anxiety over being watched and for violence/assault in later chapters. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

Noctis had learned a long time ago that people were always going to look at him differently. It was a fact of his life. That didn’t mean he had to  _ like _ it. 

The looks took plenty of forms. There were the people who were in star-struck awe of being within spitting distance of anyone of royal blood. There were the ones who disagreed with the choices his father made and therefore resented him without a second thought. Some of them looked at him and didn’t even see a person, but instead an opportunity, a quick ticket to a nicer life if they could get on his good side. Others were kinder, well-meaning even, but they tried too damn hard and just made everything uncomfortable for him, which was then uncomfortable for them. There were even the ones who seemed to realize the different looks he must receive and just looked at him with pity in their eyes, knowing as well as he did that this would never stop being an issue for him. 

He wasn’t sure which he hated seeing most. 

What all the looks had in common was that people didn’t ever seem to recognize he was just another person. He was always an oddity, something noteworthy for none of the right reasons. It all just made him want to disappear. Sometimes it almost felt like he succeeded. Those times were nice. 

It wasn’t like he was allowed to choose who he got to be. He didn’t choose to be born a prince any more than they chose not to be royal. If he could magically go back and change that, he would. From where he was sitting, there was nothing good about being born into his family line. His life would never fully be his own, the fate of a kingdom fighting a losing war fell on his shoulders, he’d likely die much younger than he otherwise would...and the  _ looks  _ he got from everyone who laid eyes on him _.  _ Ugh. 

That’s one of the things that made Prompto the perfect friend for him. Prompto  _ never _ looked at him strangely. It was such a breath of fresh air to not be looked at differently; one Noctis never thought he’d get to experience, if the rest of his life until then - and since - was anything to go by. 

Before Prompto came along, Noctis had already learned it was best to keep everyone at arms’ length. It was easier to pretend everyone didn’t look at him so differently when he didn’t dare look back at anyone. Somehow, Prompto had made all of his careful walls seem unnecessary. Not just with him either, with everyone; suddenly the looks he was getting seemed less soul-sucking, less burdensome. Like having this one genuine friend made all the stares fade into the background. It was as close as he would ever get to not receiving them, so he tried to make it count and ignore them all. Not an easy task, but it was one he was used to and it seemed so much more possible and less painful than before. Besides, at least it was something he could  _ do  _ in a situation that had been out of his hands since before he was even born. 

Maybe that was why he didn’t notice any unusual attention he had been getting lately. It was nothing new, there was always somebody lined up to fawn over him or trying to impress him, no matter how he tried to make it clear he was not interested and that their attention was the last thing in the world he wanted. It wasn’t as if  _ his _ desires really mattered, he’d often think bitterly. So it turned into a coping mechanism to tune it all out, let apathy and a polite mask take over his dealings with the majority of people he interacted with.

“Are you  _ sure _ you don’t have anything to help with this situation?” Ignis pressed Noctis again. After a member of the Crownsguard had literally dragged him out of the arcade by the arm, he was thrust into a car with Ignis in the backseat, who was even stiffer than usual and refused to give Noctis any indication of what was going on until they were safely back at the Citadel. Frankly, he was too annoyed to care. They would have told him if something happened to his dad, so there was nothing else he was especially worried about.

Upon arrival, Ignis had informed Noctis that some of the guards - the usual ones who not-so-discreetly followed him on his trips in public with Prompto - had noted a suspicious presence lurking around him and his friend. Just conspicuous enough that they could tell for sure that someone was watching him intently, which meant it was almost certainly no expert, since anyone trained in any kind of stealth or surveillance would be much less obvious. They weren’t confident about any physical details besides a relatively small frame, so it was a possibility it was a classmate observing him, but no way to confirm unless it happened again - which everyone was very much hoping to avoid. That took almost all of the pressure off, in Noctis’ mind. Surrounded by guards and able to defend himself pretty capably most days, the idea of an amateur shadowing him wasn’t cause for grave concern in his book. 

Noctis just shrugged. “I didn’t notice anything off. I wasn’t really paying attention to the crowd; you know how it is. But you should have seen me owning those games today, guys,  _ so  _ in the zone! High scores everywhere! It was  _ epic.” _

His shield glared down at him, folding his arms over his chest imposingly. It didn’t seem to have the effect he had hoped for, so he just sighed slightly looked away, muttering sarcastically, “Excellent observational skills, you must be proud.”

Noctis narrowed his eyes at the larger man, unimpressed by the jab. “I thought that’s what the guard was there for,” he answered in a hostile tone.

Equally unimpressed, Gladio replied scathingly, “You know better than to let your guard down, Noct, no matter who has your back. Even me. I taught you better than that.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he said petulantly. He knew he was being a bit immature, but he was tired of being grilled over a situation he wasn’t sure even qualified as a situation. What was the point of all the fuss? Especially when it was some random amateur who probably couldn’t hurt him if they tried. 

“Noct, this is serious,” Ignis stated grimly.

The prince groaned loudly in frustration. “Is it, though? People look at me all the damn time. This is nothing new. Besides, that’s what the guard you won’t let me go anywhere without is for!”

“I’m sorry,” Gladio began sarcastically, “would you rather not go out in public and stay at the Citadel 24/7? Because those are your options.”

“What’s the point of training me if I can’t be trusted on my own, anyway?” Noct asked. He knew the answer; he was his own last line of defense should the worst happen. But with how much of a hard-ass Gladio always was during training, it was endlessly frustrating when it seemed like he’d never use anything he learned anyway. It felt like wasted time at best, sadistic torture by his own Shield at worst. 

Ignis cleared his throat to break up the glaring contest between Noctis and Gladio. “Noct, if you’re suggesting you want more independence, now is hardly the time. Someone was watching you, without your knowledge. You are quite fortunate you had a guard present to keep you safe. Something far worse than mere  _ supervision _ could have very well befallen you today.”

“And you’re never going to get independence if you keep acting like such an immature little snot,” Gladio said roughly. His tone softened a bit when he added, “You’ve got a lot to prove before you get to that point, kiddo. And you know there will always be limits to how far you can push this.”

So far past aggravated that he couldn’t think straight, Noctis wordlessly sprung out of his chair and headed for the door. Since when was someone watching him a big deal?  _ Everyone  _ watched him; no moment was truly his own. It was completely unreasonable to freak out every time someone looked at him, how could they not see that? “I’m done,” he declared, not looking back at his Advisor or Shield. 

A member of the Crownsguard stepped in front of the exit just before he reached it. Noctis looked up slightly to look him in the eye. He was positively seething at this point, and the guard was clearly unsure of what to do in this situation. Breaking his eyes away from Noctis’, he turned to look at the men he’d just stormed away from. 

Before either of the others could comment, still not turning around, Noctis growled, “Fine, I will work on growing eyes in the back of my godsdamned head, can I go now?”

One of the others must have nodded, because the guard stepped aside, opening the door for him to leave and following him as he exited to head back to his rooms. Noctis threw a glare or two over his shoulder at the guard on the way, but he never faltered in following him all the way back.

This was the  _ Citadel _ for gods’ sake, what was going to happen to him  _ here?  _ It was almost like they were doing it out of spite at this point, and he was in the mood to be spiteful right back. He slammed the door as hard as he could as the guard fell into position outside his living space. 

Stalking straight into his bedroom, Noctis grabbed a pillow, pulled it to his face, and screamed. It didn’t help nearly as much as he’d hoped, but at least now he wasn’t in the mood to do serious property damage. 

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Prompto. 

**_Noct_ ** _ :  _ u make it home ok?

**_Prom-Prom_ ** _ :  _ yeah 

**_Prom-Prom_ ** _ :  _ wtf happened? ur dad ok?

**_Noct_ ** _ :  _ nothing happened

**_Prom-Prom_ ** _ :  _ didn’t seem like nothing dude

**_Noct_ ** _ :  _ they overreacted

**_Noct_ ** _ :  _ wish everyone would just chill for once

**_Prom-Prom_ ** _ : _ if u say so…

\--

Some time to himself had done wonders for his pissed off attitude, and the next day Noctis was nearly ready to take what may or may not have happened at the arcade seriously. He still wasn’t convinced it was actually a big deal, but the fact that the situation scared everyone else so badly had finally sunk in, leaving him on edge in school the next day. 

More than a little anxious, he tried to scan every room carefully as he entered. He felt a bit ridiculous, as he had no clue what he was looking for when he did, but he made a point of trying to be more observant. As much as he hated admitting it, Gladio was right; it would serve him well if he had better awareness of his surroundings. 

He doubted he had any cause to worry at school, but he wouldn’t have thought he had any need to fear at the arcade either. The almost constant presence of Crownsguard in his life was frustrating but it had also led him to a sense of some kind of security, and it was frightening to be reminded that he wasn’t allowed to feel completely safe or comfortable at any time. 

Noctis soon discovered that being so alert was  _ exhausting,  _ mentally and physically. By the time lunch came around, he was relieved for the break, until he realized that it was only a break from class, not a break from looking over his shoulder. He scanned the cafeteria, both for anything that seemed off and to find where Prompto was sitting. Prompto’s class before lunch was closer to the cafeteria, so he usually beat Noctis there, but he didn’t see any sign of him. 

Sighing, he made his way over to the general area where they usually sat, but made a point of sitting with his back to a wall. Maybe eliminating a direction to watch would help keep the debilitating tiredness he was feeling at bay. Not having much of an appetite, he opened up the lunch Ignis had packed him, but couldn’t bring himself to eat anything. Instead, he decided to try cautiously watching some of his classmates. 

He felt a bit silly thinking it was a classmate following him yesterday, but comments from the Crownsguard about the smaller build of the person watching him forced him to consider it as a possibility, no matter how egotistical it felt. Because it did feel ridiculous to be suspicious of his classmates, kids his age he was among daily and he considered his peers, even if they didn’t consider him to be theirs. But for the sake of honing his observational skills, he ignored the way being suspicious of them made him feel.

There was the table of girls to his left, the ones who often watched him in a much less subtle manner than he was attempting now. It was annoying, but didn’t feel like much of a threat, since they were all quite obvious about how much they liked him. Every now and then a couple of them would wander over to try and chat him up and flirt awkwardly. He really hoped that wouldn’t happen today when he was already so on edge. But they were always so forward, he couldn’t imagine any of them sneaking around to follow him, which was a relief.

Across the room, there were a few guys who made it no secret they weren’t too fond of Noctis. They were far more menacing than the giggling teenage girls were, but he got the impression they knew better than to actually mess with him. That was a relief, since some of them were known bullies. He’d have to keep an eye on them in case they changed their minds and decided antagonizing him was worth the risk. He knew that with his weapons training he could defend himself if it came to that - but the fight wouldn’t be in the least bit fair, so it would be best to avoid the situation entirely if for no other reason than to keep it out of the press.

His eyes found a girl he didn’t recognize among the crowd, halfway across the room. She seemed too afraid to make eye contact with anyone as she ate her lunch alone. Noctis could relate, usually he was too nervous to look around too, just in case he accidentally looked someone in the eye, which was usually uncomfortable for both of them. She must have felt his eyes on her - he was well acquainted with the feeling - and she looked up briefly, cheeks blushing pink as her eyes widened at who had noticed her. Her face looked genuinely frightened, but she held his gaze for a few seconds before turning back to her lunch uncomfortably. He felt guilty being the one to cause such discomfort since he knew the feeling all too well, so he turned his eyes back down to his own table.

Just as Noctis was trying to remember if the girl was new or if he had seen her in any of his classes, Prompto managed to sneak up on him as he slid into the seat next to him. “Hey dude, sorry I got held up. Mrs. Macalania just. Would. Not. Stop. Talking. How’s it going?”

Noctis managed to mostly hide how he jumped at Prompto’s sudden presence. “‘S’all good,” he mumbled, pretending to take an interest in the lunch he still didn’t feel like touching. 

“You sure?” Prompto asked uncertainly. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he replied, trying his best to put a small, reassuring smile on his face. 

Prompto didn’t seem convinced, but he moved ahead with conversation anyway. “So, are you gonna tell me what happened last night?”

Honestly, he still didn’t want to. He was having enough trouble dealing with it, he didn’t want to worry Prompto too. While their friendship was probably strong enough to handle it without scaring him off, it wasn’t something Noctis wanted to put to the test. Even if Prompto didn’t hear that someone might be following Noctis and decide to run the other way, it wasn’t his burden to bear. Noctis didn’t want him to feel the way he was currently feeling, so nervous and afraid of every remote possibility. 

He didn’t want to  _ lie _ necessarily. But he definitely didn’t want to tell Prompto the truth. “Nah, no big deal,” he settled on. It wasn’t a total lie, since he still wasn’t sure anything really had happened. He told himself that just because the situation was currently making him nervous didn’t mean there was actually anything to be nervous about. And there definitely wasn’t anything  _ Prompto _ needed to be nervous about; this was Noctis’ problem to handle. 

Prompto asked again, unusually softly, “You sure?”

Was he sure that none of it was a big deal? No, he really wasn’t. 

Was he sure that he didn’t want Prompto to know about the mess of fear and anxiety swimming in his head? Very. 

“I think so,” he settled on. A bit cryptic, but figuring out what Noctis was feeling was rarely simple, even for those who knew him. 

“Right,” Prompto replied, his attempt at a light tone falling just short. Noctis felt bad that he wasn’t in a better place mentally to be able to set his friend’s mind at ease. He didn’t like knowing that his royal problems were affecting Prompto; that wasn’t the way it should be. His relationship with Prompto was supposed to be entirely separate from all the aspects of Noctis’ life that cause him stress. 

A small voice in his mind reminded him that even if Prompto didn’t treat him like the Crown Prince, it didn’t mean that he stopped being royalty when he was with his best friend. That same reasonable little voice also told him that Prompto cared about him and just wanted to help with whatever was troubling him, no matter what it was. Noctis just couldn’t let himself believe it was that simple. 

Wishful thinking at its best, Noctis decided to just move ahead and pretend that the issue would just fade away so soon it wasn’t worth worrying about. “So,” he began, “you have any plans for the weekend?”

Prompto’s face was easier to read than his own most of the time, and Noctis could see his friend wasn’t letting this go as easily as he’d hoped he might. But he took the hint and moved along anyway. “Ugh, dude, I have so much homework it isn’t even funny,” he said with a dramatic groan. 

“I do have that essay to write,” Noctis agreed with a nod, grabbing hold to the change in conversation eagerly. 

“So, how much do you think it would cost me to get Ignis to do my calculus homework for me?” Prompto asked jokingly, doubtlessly trying to lighten the mood in the way only he was capable of doing. 

Grateful for the distraction, Noctis responded with a hand over his heart and mock indignation, saying, “And compromise academic integrity? Perish the thought!”

“Okay, how long do you think I have to promise to go away for  _ help  _ on my homework?” Prompto countered somewhat more seriously. 

“So you’re acknowledging there’s no amount of money you can pay to get Ignis’ tutoring?” 

Prompto snorted. “You and I both know he’d rather never see me again more than all the money in the world.”

“Aww, he doesn’t hate you  _ that  _ much,” Noctis replied. 

“Riiiiiiight.”

A comfortable silence took over for a few minutes after their banter trailed off. Noctis was finally getting his appetite back and picked at his lunch contently. 

Having Prompto there was doing exactly what he loved about his company: suddenly there was no one else around them. No one looking at him, no one sneaking to watch him, no one talking about him, because it all disappeared when he was with his friend - even in silence - for which he was indescribably thankful.

When Prompto finally broke the silence, Noctis couldn’t bring himself to mind. “So, uh...you know you can tell me anything, yeah?” he asked awkwardly. 

As much as Noctis was enjoying his mini mental vacation from his worries, bringing it up again didn’t make his stomach lurch like he would have expected. “Yeah,” he answered softly. “I know.”

“You know I just want to help, right?” he prodded again. 

“Yeah,” Noctis repeated simply. Before he realized what he was saying, he continued, “I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”

The sunshine of Prompto’s smile made his unintended promise worthwhile. In retrospect, he realized he might have even meant it. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to tell him the truth. Just not today. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. I'm half asleep because it's late but I didn't want to wait to post this. If there's anything glaringly wrong I'm blaming that and please let me know and I'll fix it. 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and stuff thus far. Sorry this chapter is shorter than I expected, but it just wanted to end there and I didn't want to make it awkward by trying to draw it out. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy :)

Prompto was trying really hard to not be offended. He knew he had little to no right to be and was probably being overly sensitive, but it hurt. 

The weekend had come and gone with little contact from Noctis, and he still wasn’t really himself in school on Monday. He told himself it was understandable and for the best since they both had so much schoolwork to complete and that it was probably some royal thing a simple plebe like him would never understand. But he’d really hoped Noctis would open up about what was bothering him so much by now, especially since he’d said he would when he was ready. 

The hardest part was that the artist in Prompto had made him decent at observation, which meant he knew the signals to look for in his friend’s behavior by now; he just had no idea what most of them actually meant in practice. It made Noctis’s reluctance to open up especially frustrating, because all the signs were right there but the answers he wanted just weren’t. 

Noctis had been distant since that weird thing at the arcade last week, and not having a clue what had happened was driving Prompto crazy. He could also tell his friend was nervous, maybe even  _ scared,  _ and it didn’t seem to be getting any better. Convincing himself to just give Noctis some time to keep his promise was proving to be incredibly difficult, but he knew that pushing Noctis to open up was rarely the answer. 

But it was the only thing he could think to do. Sure, he was worried he’d regret it. He wasn’t going to push too hard, he told himself. That self-deprecating side of his brain poked at him and asked since when had he been good at knowing when to stop talking. For all of Monday night through Tuesday afternoon, he worked to think of a way to push without actually pushing but he’d come up with no better options. 

So Tuesday after school, when Prompto and Noctis were standing in one of the courtyards on campus, he decided there was no time like the present to get to the bottom of the situation. Noctis was clearly still anxious, pushing his back to a wall and looking around constantly. More sure than ever that  _ something _ must have happened, he pressed on. 

“So, uh, I know you said you would tell me when you’re ready - and I totally appreciate that! But, uh...any chance you’re ready now? Because you’re totally still nervous and it’s starting to make  _ me  _ nervous and you know what I’m like when I get nervous-” he cut off his rambling with a grimace, worried he’d pushed too far already. But when he turned to look at his friend, it didn’t seem like Noctis was listening to him at all. He could see in the way his eyes continued to dart around that he wasn’t annoyed, he was just plain spooked by something. 

He waved his hand at him to see if his friend would even notice, and when he didn’t, he moved to wave it right in front of his face, which thankfully seemed to get his attention. “You...okay?” he tried simply, afraid of starting down the slippery slope his rambling could be. 

“Yeah, sure,” Noctis replied quietly, turning right back to watching his surroundings. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Uh, little late for that, bud,” he half-joked, feeling just as nervous as Noctis seemed lately, but it fell flat. 

That seemed to snag Noctis’ attention from his constant lookout. “Sorry,” he murmured, keeping his eyes down. “I promise it’s not a big deal.”

“Seems like a big deal to me,” Prompto prodded again in the same partially joking tone that again failed to keep the mood light. “You seem really scared and I’m worried,” he said, switching to a tone that was unusually serious for him. It felt so wrong coming from his mouth but it seemed to be having some effect on Noctis, though he wasn’t sure exactly what yet. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Noctis mumbled, ducking his head for a moment before snapping it back up at a loud sound from across the courtyard. Another student had been doing stunts across the way - walking on the half-walls like balance beams, doing flips back to the ground - and his friends had let out a loud cheer when he pulled off a cartwheel without falling off the wall. Seeing it wasn’t a threat, Noctis blushed bright pink when Prompto gave him a dubious look at his fearful reaction. 

“Uh, should you anyway?” Prompto pressed. He wasn’t used to Noctis being afraid of much of anything, especially compared to himself. “Because, like, if you’re trying not to worry me, you’re doing a really crappy job,” he said with a wince, realizing a second too late how forward that last statement was. 

Noctis wrinkled his nose at the idea of sharing what was bothering him. Before he could answer, his phone beeped in his pocket, and if he was trying to hide the relief on his face at the distraction, he did a crappy job of that too. “Ignis can’t come get me for another hour. You can go if you want,” he offered softly. 

“Are you kidding? I’m not leaving you alone right now,” Prompto responded, almost offended by the idea. He considered their options for a moment. Personally, he’d love to go to the park since the day was so beautiful and he had a new lens he was dying to try out on his camera. But he thought back on Noctis’ behavior these past two days, and he realized that while his friend was clearly almost always anxious about something, he seemed better off when inside the walls of their school. “Library?” he suggested. Noctis simply nodded, seeming grateful for the safe suggestion. 

They made their way there in silence, which Noctis also seemed grateful for, so Prompto tried to let him have the peace and quiet he clearly didn’t have in his head these past days. Sitting at a table, they both pulled out homework since neither had any idea how to talk about what they were feeling. 

Time passed quietly until a sudden voice yanked them out of their homework-trance. “Hey,  _ Prince Noctis,”  _ a voice sneered. 

While Noctis’s eyes snapped up to meet the speaker’s eyes, Prompto just watched Noctis carefully. Alarm was clear in his wide eyes, and Prompto winced internally at the fear he was showing this bully. In his experience, that rarely led to great things. 

“What do you want?” Noctis tried to say with some kind of authority, but the waver in his voice was obvious, as was the tenseness in his shoulders. 

“Oh, so the prince  _ will  _ deign to speak to commoners besides his usual pet,” the boy spat scornfully. “Do you even know who I am?”

“Of course I know who you are, Erik,” Noctis replied, equal parts nervous and impatient. It was clear he was fighting not to roll his eyes, but probably more because he was scared to look away from the potential threat than out of any sense of politeness. “We have three classes together.”   
Erik didn’t seem pleased with that answer. He took a menacing step forward, and both Noctis and Prompto froze for a moment. When the bully saw how both had frozen like spooked animals, he smirked and took another step forward. 

Prompto couldn’t believe this was happening. Even though not everyone realized it, plenty of people were aware Noctis knew how to defend himself - and even those who didn’t know or hadn’t thought about it much realized it was a  _ terrible _ idea to threaten him in any way. The fact that no one seemed stupid enough to be a danger to him was probably one of the only reasons the crown had agreed to let him attend a regular school. Of course someone had to pick  _ now  _ to antagonize Noctis, just when he was already so nervous. 

Before Prompto even realized what was happening, Noctis had gathered his homework in his arms - not even bothering to put it into his bag - and dashed from the room. Prompto couldn’t help but look at his friend’s retreating back in disbelief as he fled. It was so unlike Noctis to be that easily intimidated. Something was seriously wrong, and he needed to find out what. 

Interrupting Prompto’s frenzied packing of his things, Erik laughed so hard he was doubled over. Just as he was hoping to slip away unnoticed, the boy crowed, “Such a coward! What a  _ great _ king he’ll make one day!” 

Prompto’s desire to defend his friend was at war with his instinct to just go and catch up with him to make sure he was okay as soon as possible. Eventually the latter won out, and he jogged out of the library looking for Noctis, trying to forget about the situation with Erik. 

There was no sign of him in the hallway. Prompto swore quietly to himself before whipping out his phone to call his friend. The phone rang several times before he picked up. “Noct!” Prompto said, relieved he had picked up. “Are you okay? Where are you?” 

_ “I’m fine. Just….needed a minute. Sorry,”  _ he said quietly. 

Prompto could hear the shame in his friend’s voice. Hoping to put him at ease, he tried to remain as calm as possible. “I don’t think Erik’s gonna try following either of us. Where are you?” he asked again. “I’ll come to you, just tell me where you are.”

_ “I, um, I’d rather you didn’t.” _

Prompto’s shoulders sagged. Okay,  _ now  _ he was definitely hurt. Again he tried to keep his voice calm as he replied evenly, “And I’d rather not leave you alone right now.”

_ “Seriously, don’t worry about it.” _

“Really, really late for that, Noct. I need to know where to find you.”

A pause stretched on and Prompto had to check to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.  _ “Outside. Behind the gym,”  _ he said simply before hanging up. 

_Really?_ Prompto thought absently. That was pretty far away. Noctis sure moved a lot faster when he was scared than….well, any other time, ever. 

As he sped up to reach Noctis’ side, Prompto’s mind couldn’t help but speed up as well, wondering what on Eos was getting to Noctis so badly. 

Prompto had stayed at the arcade for about half an hour after Noctis left - it hadn’t been the same without him, though, so he’d soon headed home. If there’d been some sort of threat on the building, wouldn’t some authority have emptied it out, even after Noctis was taken somewhere safer? He didn’t recall seeing anything suspicious, but he trusted the crownsguard far more than himself in that regard. 

Noctis almost always kept any problems pertaining to the royal side of his life to himself. But surely he would have told Prompto if the emergency was about his dad?

Even if it had been something insignificant like a forgotten commitment - which happened from time to time - he wouldn’t still be shaken by that several days later. 

And if someone was going to try and hurt  _ Noctis _ , that was really serious and he couldn’t imagine anyone keeping that to themselves….until after a moment of thought he realized Noctis really might.  

By the time he finally reached Noctis, Prompto’s head hurt a bit with trying to come up with possibilities. Hopefully he would finally be a bit more forthcoming after the scene in the library. 

Before he could even sit, Noctis mumbled out, “Sorry.” At least, Prompto was pretty sure it was an apology; it was hard to tell with the way he had his knees drawn to his chest and his head resting on them. 

“No worries, bud,” Prompto said, panting slightly as he sat down. “You wanna tell me what happened?”

“Not especially.”

“Yeah, okay, I know you don’t, but seriously, I just wanna help.”

“It’s-”

“- and just so you know, if your next words are ‘no big deal’ I might have to smack you,” Prompto warned, face and voice both uncharacteristically serious. 

There was a long moment of silence before Noctis finally admitted, “Fine, I may….have a stalker?” he said, his tone drifting upward at the end in disbelief at his own words. “Gods, I don’t know if I should call it that, that sounds so dramatic. But the guard said they noticed someone paying a bit too much attention to me at the arcade.”

Unknowingly voicing Noctis’s exact initial opinion, Prompto half-asked uncertainly, “But everyone pays attention to you? You’re….you, you know?”

“I know, right?” Noctis said somewhat indignantly before settling into a more resigned tone, “That’s what makes this so ridiculous! But everybody else was really freaked out and then  _ I  _ started freaking out and now I can’t stop looking over my shoulder. It’s exhausting,” he punctuated with a long sigh. 

In his head, Prompto was feeling the exact same, but he wasn’t sure if admitting that would help the situation. Initially, the idea of being worried about something like that seemed absurd, especially considering how people always treated Noctis. But….there were dangerous people in the world. Just because the first people to come to his mind were the curious and pushy - but ultimately harmless - teenagers in their classes didn’t mean everyone’s attention would be so innocuous. 

Completely unwelcome, Prompto’s mind chose that moment to remind him that there was an attempt on Noctis’ life when he was just a kid. And as horrifying as that was on its own, he also doubted Noctis would have told anyone about that event if he had the choice. Had there been other attempts Prompto just didn’t know about? The idea terrified him, especially because it seemed so within the realm of possibility. It would certainly explain why this was shaking Noctis so badly and why everyone meant to be keeping him safe reacted so strongly from the start. He wished there was a way to ask Noctis about it, but he couldn’t think of a way that wouldn’t be overly prying or scare him more than he already was. 

In a matter of seconds, Prompto had gone through the exact mental progression Noctis said he himself had. It didn’t bode well for his ability to keep calm and help his friend through the situation. He knew he had to find a balance between keeping his head and not making Noctis feel like he didn’t care or wasn’t taking this potentially very serious situation appropriately. It was a fine line to walk and he hoped for both of their sakes he could manage it. 

Would it be better to change the subject? No, that might be insensitive. So would a joke right now, he could tell the probability of that helping was slim. It would have to be  _ just right,  _ and he couldn’t think of anything that he thought would help the mood. If he managed to put his foot in his mouth badly enough, he might even chase away the only real friend he’d ever known just when that friend really needed someone by his side. 

No, whatever he said would need to be serious and sincere. And above all else,  _ calm,  _ because they both needed a good dose of that right about now.

But  _ calm  _ wasn’t Prompto’s specialty on the best of days. His head was always a writhing ball of anxiety, constantly worrying about one thing or another, especially when it came to himself. The pressure to say the right thing was making him feel like he was trapped, holding his breath under water, desperate for air but having no clue which way the surface was. 

Before he realized the words were coming out of his mouth, he caught himself saying, “Honestly, dude, I have no idea what to say to that.” He froze afterward in disbelief, thinking,  _ I did  _ **_not_ ** _ just say that, how could I have just said that?  _

Noctis’s reaction to his words made his heart stutter to a stop as his friend awkwardly bobbed his head a few times and tried to stand to make a quick exit. Prompto quickly reached up and caught Noctis’s sleeve in his hand to try and hold him back. 

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Noctis mumbled. “S’not your problem. Sorry.”

“No, no!” Prompto practically cried out frantically. “I’m still glad you told me, I just….you know I just wanna help but this is way outside my comfort zone.”

“Yeah. It’s okay. I’m sorry.”

_ “Don’t be.”  _ Prompto wasn’t sure he’d ever said anything so seriously and emphatically in his life. But he needed Noctis to know that he wasn’t trying to say he wanted no part in this scary aspect of his life. He just needed some guidance on what that part would be. 

Somehow, his firm grip on Noctis’s sleeve had said all he needed it to: that he was here for him, with no intention of letting go. As he looked up into Noctis’ eyes, he could see the beginnings of relieved but panicked tears there and blinked to try to send his own away. Now wasn’t the time to freak out, Noctis needed him to keep his head on straight while his own was so desperately lost. That wasn’t typically Prompto’s job, but he was absolutely going to try. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry the wait for this has been so long. I've actually had a ton of ideas lately but having trouble working on any of them and it's done weird things to me emotionally. 
> 
> Special thanks to Denaia, who prompted me to revisit the next chapter that I've had mostly written for over a month. She also listened enthusiastically while I worked out the rest of the plot so I have a stronger idea of where this is going and shouldn't be as long a wait next time. Thanks for listening and that correction you got to make sweetie :)

Prompto was mostly satisfied with the progress he was making with Noctis’ mental state.

Monday, he’d spent the day tensely watching Noctis’ uneasiness and waiting for him to open up. That anxiety had been contagious, and Prompto was starting to worry they were just going to feed off each other’s nerves until it broke one or maybe even both of them. 

On Tuesday, Noctis finally did tell Prompto what was wrong. And while the news of a potential stalker wasn’t exactly what he was hoping to hear - though with how spooked Noctis was, he already knew whatever it was wasn’t going to be good - supporting his friend was something he was totally happy to do. 

It was a different kind of support than usual. Normally, he felt like an escape for Noctis - their friendship seemed like one of the few ways he got to be normal - and that was fine with him. It often left him feeling like the comic relief, but it was something he could work with. As time went on, he became less of the jester and more of a confidant, which was great. He’d secretly been worried they were backsliding in the relationship, so knowing Noctis trusted him as a close friend meant the world to him. Therefore, Prompto made it his mission to take Noctis’ mind off the current situation in whatever way he preferred - though knowing Noctis, he would never ask for anything specific, too afraid of crossing some imagined boundary of their relationship.

Wednesday and Thursday saw real improvements in Noctis’ mood. He was still skittish, but having Prompto attached to his side seemed to help a lot. It led to both of them being a bit more clingy than usual, but it wasn’t an unwelcome development in their friendship, especially considering the circumstances. 

Prompto started doing little things he thought might help, like finding a more private place for the two of them to eat lunch. He also made a point of being the one to suggest skipping their trips to the arcade and park for mostly transparent reasons, but Noctis seemed to appreciate it all the same. It was a new normal to adjust to, but Prompto was willing to carry it on for as long as Noctis needed. What were friends for, right?

The first major snag that popped up was when Prompto woke up Friday morning feeling sick as a dog. His head was pounding, throat sore, breathing difficult and painful. 

Still, he dragged himself out of bed like a trooper. He was never one to miss school cavalierly and it wasn’t as if staying home by himself all day was that much of an improvement - though the idea of crawling back into bed did sound  _ divine.  _ He idly wondered if this was how Noctis felt all the time.

The second snag came when he collapsed in the shower. Twice. 

After dragging himself out of the shower and somewhat drying himself, he reached for his phone. Unable to afford a doctor, he chose the next best alternative: Ignis. 

Picking up after two rings, Ignis answered his phone with a slight air of exasperation already in his tone.  _ “Yes, Prompto, is something the matter?” _

“I, uh, I think I’m sick.”

_ “That’s a pity, but I don’t see how that led you to call me.” _

Prompto chewed his lip, already questioning his choice. Maybe this was just a really dumb idea his sick brain had presented to him as perfectly reasonable. “Er, I guess I’m not sure why I did either.”

_ “Prompto,”  _ he sighed.  _ “Is there something with which you need assistance?” _

“Uh, yeah, I took my temperature and it says 102.6. Is that serious?” he asked hesitantly. 

That seemed to get more of Ignis’ attention, though he still seemed a bit distracted as he responded,  _ “While it doesn’t pose an immediate danger, I’d say you are certainly correct about being sick. Was there something else you needed?”  _

“I was wondering if you think it’s safe for me to go to school?” Prompto asked uncertainly. “It’s just, I’m worried about leaving Noct alone but I already fell in the shower and I don’t know if I can make the walk on my own...could you drive me or something? Then I wouldn’t have to miss school.”

_ “With a fever that high, you would be doing yourself and your classmates a favor by remaining home for the day,”  _ Ignis informed him sternly. Just what Prompto was afraid to hear. He continued,  _ “As you must know, I’m no physician, but I’d say you sound like you’ve caught the flu. This season’s flu is mercifully rather short, so if you are fretting about missing school, don’t. While your dedication is commendable, you will certainly be feeling better sooner if you were to take a few days to rest. You’ll likely be in shape to return to school after the weekend, Tuesday at the latest.” _

“But...what about Noct?” Prompto asked nervously.

_ “What about him?”  _ came the dispassionate reply. 

Prompto wasn’t sure how to answer that. Surely Ignis had noticed how off Noctis had been this past week? He had no doubt the man who practically raised Noctis most of the time would be ‘in the know’ about the stalker situation. Was he playing dumb in case Noctis had decided not to tell Prompto? Or did he truly not care about the state Noctis has been in? That was hard to imagine from someone as conscientious as Ignis. “I mean, I don’t have to tell you Noct’s been having a rough week,” he began to explain. “I feel bad leaving him alone at school when he’s like this.”

Ignis responded smoothly,  _ “Your dedication to Noct is also to be commended, but allow me to request you not infect him with the flu simply because you feel bad leaving his side for a day.” _

Still uneasy about the idea of leaving Noctis to take care of himself at school when he was just starting to improve, Prompto swallowed thickly. The pain from his throat made him think again about giving someone else this bug, and he decided to do the adult thing, if possibly not the most ideal choice for his friend. 

“I guess it’s back to bed with me then,” Prompto tried to joke lightly. “Can you let Noct know I’m really sorry?”

_ “Certainly. Get well soon.” _

\--

Mornings suck. Noctis will never understand why things have to happen early in the morning. Just plain inhumane is what it was.

Still, he managed to stumble out of bed with only minimal grumbling after moderate prodding from Ignis. He knew he’d have to learn to wake himself with an alarm clock one of these days, but both he and Ignis knew it wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. 

Getting ready for school passed in a blur, nothing really registering until he was in the car. 

Ignis cleared his throat and announced, “Noct, Prompto called me this morning. It would seem he has come down with the flu, so he will not be in school today.” The way he said it made it obvious that he’d made a point of waiting until they were on their way to tell him, likely to prevent any attempts Noctis might make to get out of going to school as well. 

Noctis’ stomach dropped at the news. Telling Prompto about the stalker situation was one of the best decisions he’d made in recent memory, because suddenly not only was he less lonely, but he had all the support that he could ask for to get him through the day. He may still be nervous, but he had a living, breathing reminder that not all his classmates were dangerous. Things had actually been starting to slowly slide back towards normal in his brain. But now that pillar was being yanked out unexpectedly. 

At the panic rising up in him, Noct hadn’t noticed Ignis had still been speaking to him. “Noct? Are you quite alright?” he asked, clearly not for the first time. 

All Noctis could do was shake his head. No, he was not alright at all. This was hardly the first time he’d be in school without Prompto, but it would be the first time he was afraid of half his classmates without his friend by his side. 

Ignis sighed. “Are you worried about that situation from the arcade?” 

“Y-yeah, I guess.”

“While I’m glad to see that you are finally taking the situation with the gravity it deserves, you have no need to worry at school.”

Noctis looked at his Advisor in confusion. “You said it was probably one of my classmates, though.”

Pushing his glasses up, Ignis replied, “And it likely was, but we’ve seen no sign of another incident, and we don’t think you’re in danger at your school.”

Completely unconvinced, Noctis replied, “There hasn’t been a chance for another  _ ‘incident’ _ because I haven’t gone out in public since it happened.” Finally letting his eyes gaze outside the car, he saw that they had arrived at the school. “Please don’t make me go in there alone,” he begged, approaching the point of tears. 

Frustrated and probably believing Noctis was just making excuses to get out of a day of class, Ignis said sharply, “Don’t be ridiculous, Noct. Your education is important and I’ll not let you skip class just because your friend is ill.”

Noctis couldn’t help but feel trapped. He needed to get out of the car, he needed to avoid making Ignis any more snappish before one of them said something they’d regret. But he really had no desire to go into his school. It was so unfair, they all wanted him to take the situation so seriously but then they made him go through hell, surrounded by potential threats, feeling desperately unsafe the entire time. The only thing keeping him afloat had been taken from him, yet here they were tossing him into the waves, not caring that he wasn’t confident he could swim. 

After an impossible to determine length of time passed in silence, he gathered all the will he had and left the safety of the car behind. 

\--

Noctis had forced himself through his day by telling himself he had no choice but to move forward. The idea was a familiar one, since he knew his destiny was set long before he realized just how few choices he had in life. 

So he went to his first class, because what else was he going to do, skip? Ignis would kill him and he usually valued his life, thank you very much. 

His second class rolled around and he made himself walk into that classroom, too. Prompto wasn’t in that class with him anyway, so he pretended it was a usual day. He took notes to keep his mind busy with something useful instead of focusing on things that would only make his mindset go further downhill. It helped that he was seated in the very back row, so he could watch the room. By the time his third class started, his actions had turned almost robotic, but it was a welcome development if it helped him get through the day. 

But then came his first real challenge of the day: Lunch. 

Making himself go sit in the cafeteria alone to be surrounded by people he didn’t trust sounded horrifying, so he retrieved his packed meal and went to the secluded spot Prompto had found for them for lunchtime. That place was the gym, in a spot out of view just behind the bleachers. It wasn’t especially well hidden, but it was impossible to see from the gym teacher’s office or the main entrance - and as an added bonus, no one was supposed to be in there outside of scheduled gym classes and there wasn’t one during his lunch period. 

Settling down with his back against a support for the bleachers, Noctis unpacked his lunch. The loneliness was starting to get to him, but he shoved the feeling down, not willing to admit a single day without his best friend was already breaking him. His already turbulent mental state certainly wasn’t helping, but he refused to give into the helplessness he was feeling. 

Distracted by trying to fight off the self-pity that was threatening to overcome him, he didn’t hear when someone approached. 

“Um, hi?” a voice said uncertainly above him. 

Noctis’ head snapped up at the intrusion, cheeks blushing pink at how startled he was. “Hi?” he finally forced out. “Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

The girl standing above him smiled down at him innocently. “Mind if I join you?” she asked shyly. 

Did he mind? Kind of, but he didn’t want to be needlessly rude. He vaguely remembered spotting this same girl sitting alone at lunch earlier in the week and felt bad turning her away. Still, he didn’t know her and that made him anxious. “I guess not,” he mumbled. “How did you find me?”

She sat down a few feet away from him and shrugged noncommittally, not answering his question. The lack of response made him nervous, but he mentally rebuked himself over his skittishness. 

Still not answering his question, she held out a hand to introduce herself and then quickly reconsidered and pulled it back, clearly trying to pretend she hadn’t just done so. With a blush of her own, she introduced herself. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve technically met. I’m Becky.”

Noctis hated when people introduced themselves to him. It was always awkward replying since people knew who he was, so how was he supposed to respond? Introducing himself when people already knew was uncomfortable, but assuming they knew who he was - which they always did, without fail - seemed presumptuous as well. He settled for a nod and simply said, “Noct,” hoping to avoid any inclination to refer to him by his full name or title. 

“So, your partner in crime abandon you today?” she asked jokingly. 

He winced in reply. He’d been trying really hard to avoid that word in his mind. Thinking of the situation as abandonment was not only not helping his mood but also wasn’t fair to Prompto, since Noctis knew he would have been there by his side if at all possible. He was tempted to just shrug as she had a minute ago, but it didn’t seem appropriate. “He’s sick,” he defended his friend weakly. 

For a while, Becky didn’t answer, and Noctis couldn’t decide if the silence was uncomfortable or if he was just relieved to not have to make conversation. 

Eventually, she scrambled to fill the silence. “Um...your lunch looks, like, really good?” she said, her voice turning up at the end like a question. 

Noctis wished desperately that he could stop these awkward conversations from happening. Part of him felt that if only people stopped treating him so strangely, things would be different, but the rest of him knew that his own attitude wasn’t helping matters. 

“Thanks,” he answered softly. “It is pretty good.” He winced internally when he realized that his response didn’t drive any conversation, leaving Becky to once again fill the silence. But that didn’t change that he was pretty bad at this on a normal day when he didn’t feel constantly in danger. Prompto was so much more friendly than Noctis ever was, so he tried to think what his friend would say in this situation. “So, uh, I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” he began but then realized that wasn’t true, considering they’d locked eyes in the cafeteria before. “I mean, I guess I’ve  _ seen _ you,” he corrected. “But I don’t think you’re in any of my classes, right?”

Becky blushed slightly, likely remembering that awkward moment they had in the cafeteria before, but tried to carry on as if it didn’t bother her at all. “Nope, no classes in common. I just transferred here anyway, so that’s why you probably don’t know me,” she said, generously providing him an out for not being aware of her presence until recently. He was grateful for the smooth way she slipped that into conversation instead of letting him think she thought he was out of touch considering his fellow classmates. 

It was a small thing, but he felt himself relax slightly. It was almost a normal conversation. He didn’t get a lot of those with people at school other than Prompto. It was actually kind of nice. The rest of lunch proceeded with similar meaningless but pleasant conversation, and when the bell rang to signal that it was time to begin moving towards their next classes, Noctis felt more calm than he expected to feel that day. 

\--

Prompto was startled to wake up to a dark bedroom. Upon checking his phone, he was relieved to find it was still Friday, even if it was clearly nighttime now. 

He was less pleased when he swallowed and had to wince at the pain. Logically, he knew he wouldn’t feel better yet, but it still felt like a disaster and possibly a personal failure. Noctis was counting on him to get better as soon as possible! 

With that thought, he forced himself to get out of bed. He wasn’t so good at taking care of himself, so he tried to think of what Ignis would tell him to do in a situation like this. He’d probably advise rest, but that’s what Prompto did all day long. What else would be good? Medicine? Probably, but Prompto wasn’t sure he had any left. Maybe time could be just as effective, right? 

In the end, he decided on food. Food had to be a good idea, even if it wasn’t the most appealing one. If he stayed quiet, he could practically hear Ignis lecturing him on the importance of staying hydrated and not letting himself go too long without food, so he reluctantly left his bedroom and headed down the stairs. 

Before he even reached the bottom step, he felt a cool breeze blow in his face. Which was weird. The heat was definitely running. True, he was still shivering a bit, but that was definitely just because he was sick. 

Shaking his head, he made his way to his kitchen, where he was quickly confronted with the fact that there was so little food in his cabinets. Sighing, he resigned himself to eating dry toast. He slipped the two pieces of bread in the toaster and dragged himself over to the kitchen table and slumped into a chair. 

Elbow on the table and head in his hand, he finally looked around the room and noticed where the cold air had come from: his back door was wide open. He stared at it in confusion for a moment. Prompto was nearly positive he didn’t leave it that way, and his parents hadn’t been home in two months. 

He weakly shuffled over to the door to shut it, then back over to the toaster after it beeped. Slowly chewing his toast, he considered how the door came to be open, but largely came up blank. He decided it was probably for the best that his imagination wasn’t working at full capacity. 

Finishing his toast in a daze, he decided that he was never going to make it back up the stairs at this rate. So he dropped himself onto the couch for the night, instantly forgetting the issue as he slipped back into sleep, never noticing that several things in his kitchen were not where he had left them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I promise to try to continue much sooner than this time. Kudos and comments and all that jazz make me super happy, so if you've got time please let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading regardless though and I'll see y'all next time :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading; kudos, bookmarks, and comments give me life please and thank you <3
> 
> Find me at zoewiloh.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> I would LOVE to chat or something so please say hi :D


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